Training and current positions:
Dr. Michael V. Vitiello is Professor of Psychiatry
and Behavioral Sciences, Adjunct Professor of Psychology
and Adjunct Professor of Biobehavioral
Nursing and Health Systems, University of Washington. He received his
Bachelor’s in Psychology from Columbia
University in 1973 and his Doctorate in Physiological Psychology from
the University of Washington in
1980. Following post-doctoral training in Gerontology and Clinical Psychology,
he joined the faculty of the University of Washington School
of Medicine in 1983.
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Research:
Dr. Vitiello is the Senior Scientist of the Department
of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences’ Sleep Research
Group. He has
been an active researcher in the area of sleep and aging for over 20 years and
is an author of over 250 scientific
publications. Funded by the National
Institute of Mental Health and the National
Institute on Aging, his research
efforts are focused on the neuroscience
of aging,
specifically; understanding the causes, consequences and treatments of
age-related disturbances in sleep and circadian rhythms.
Age-related sleep
disturbance describes the increasing fragmentation, lightening and
non-restorative aspects of sleep that increase across the life span and are
neither the result of primary sleep disorders nor secondary to medical and
psychiatric illness or environmental conditions. Here is a link to a brief
description of his ongoing research projects.
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Administration:
Dr. Vitiello currently serves part-time in the Office
of Research as Special Assistant to the Vice-Provost for Research. His
principal duties include serving as Project Director of the Grant
and Contract Initiative (GCI), and chairing the Grant
and Contract Process Enhancement Team (GC-PET). Through the GCI, he directs a
University-wide effort to conceive, design and implement an improved Grant and
Contract system to better serve the needs of principal investigators, their
staffs, and campus administrators.
Dr. Vitiello was formerly chair of the Faculty
Council of Research, University of Washington Faculty Senate, and a
member of the President’s Research Advisory Board, the Faculty
Senate Executive Committee and the Faculty
Senate. Among his numerous other administrative duties, he chaired the
Independent Study in Medical Science (ISMS) Committee and was a member of the
Admissions Committee of the School
of Medicine.
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Teaching:
Dr.
Vitiello is actively involved in three post-doctoral training grants; two from
the National Institute of Mental Health
and one from the National Institute of
Alcohol and Alcohol Abuse administered through the Addictive
Behaviors Research Center. He frequently makes presentations to the health
care community on sleep and sleep disorders through the Division
of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine’s Northwest Geriatric Educational
Center and at continuing medical education courses throughout the
region and the country. One of his recent general education articles on sleep
and aging can be found on the Extended
Care Information Network.
Dr. Vitiello teaches regularly for the Department
of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and for the Department
of Psychology. Courses he has taught include:
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Scientific Societies:
Dr. Vitiello is an active member of a number of scientific societies,
including:
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Honors and Editorships:
Dr. Vitiello holds an Independent Scientist Research Career
Award from the National Institute of
Mental Health and is a Fellow of the Gerontological
Society of America. He was a member of the Clinical Centers and Special
Projects Study Section of the National Institute of Mental Health and regularly
serves as a consultant reviewer for several of the National
Institutes of Health.
Dr. Vitiello is founding Co-Editor and Editor-in-Chief for
the Americas of Sleep Medicine
Reviews.
He is a former Editorial Board member of Sleep, the Journal
of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, the Journal
of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, and Research and Practice in
Alzheimer’s Disease.
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University Affiliations:
In addition to the various University affiliations mentioned above, Dr. Vitiello
is actively involved in the University of Washington’s General
Clinical Research Center (GCRC), Alcohol
and Drug Abuse Institute (ADAI), Institute on Aging (IoA) and Clinical
Research Nutrition Unit (CNRU).
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